$LZB (La-Z-Boy Incorporated)

$LZB said the company is optimistic about its business for the long term. The company added that it is working to increase its share of the stationary upholstery category and capitalize on its integrated retail strategy through growing the number of stores owned by the company.

$LZB reported a 3% growth in the sales of its upholstery
segment in 1Q18, to $274MM. Sales of the casegoods segment moved up 2% YoY to $26MM.
The company’s retail segment registered first quarter sales of $111MM, up 16% compared
to 1Q17.

$LZB, a leading recliner manufacturer, said its earnings
dropped 14% annually to $0.24 per share in 1Q18, owing mainly to subdued volumes
and higher expenses. Sales advanced 4.8% to $357MM, which was mostly related to
acquired sales that did not add volume to production. Same-store written
sales for the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries edged up 0.7%.

$LZB said that on the company's e-commerce platform, the company is feeling good about the progress it is making and is investing much in its digital presence. $LZB added that its traffic and time on the site is also improving.

$LZB expects increased CapEx spending in FY18 related to machine and equipment and expansions to the company's England plans, along with the new corporate office building to replace the one lost in last month's fire.

$LZB's Upholstery segment posted its highest quarterly operating margin performance in a decade of 13.5% in 4Q17. This performance was driven by productivity improvements coming from the company's ERP system. On the expense side, $LZB spent $36MM on acquisitions and $20MM on CapEx in FY17.

In FY17, $LZB generated $1.5Bil in sales, while increasing its consolidated GM, operating income, operating margin and diluted EPS. Additionally, the company generated $146MM in cash from operating activities, allowing it to return a combined $57MM to its shareholders through share purchases and increased dividends.

$LZB reported a 2.4% growth in same-store written sales in its Furniture Galleries network in 4Q17. In the whole of 2017, the company opened seven new stores, closed two, acquired 14 from independent dealers and remodeled three. La-Z-Boy also approved the purchase of up to an additional 6MM shares under its share purchase authorization.

$LZB appointed David Behen as VP and CIO He will report to Kurt Darrow, Chairman, President and CEO. In this role, Behen will be responsible for leading, developing, expanding and overseeing all aspects of IT, including IT strategy, cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, ERP deployment, network optimization, and procuring new technologies.

$LZB named Douglas Collier as Chief Commercial Officer and President, International. In this new position, he will have global responsibility for all facets of sales, merchandising and marketing for the $LZB branded business. He will continue to report to Kurt Darrow, CEO.

SVP and President of $LZB Branded Business Mark Bacon has resigned from the company, effective April 30, 2017. For the immediate future, the senior leadership members of Branded Business will report to CEO Kurt Darrow.

$LZB plans to invest about $26MM over a 3-year period in its largest U.S. manufacturing facility, located in Dayton, Tennessee. The 1.2MM square-foot Dayton campus, which began operations in 1973 and employs about 1,400 people, is the only La-Z-Boy branded plant that manufactures furniture in all three upholstery categories.

$LZB said
the management of materials and the supply chain was the main driver of margin
improvements in the upholstery segment. The lowering of input costs and
improvements in productivity are contributing as well to margin improvement. If
volume and raw materials stay positive, the company will continue to see
benefits in margins.

In 2Q17,
$LZB’s consolidated GM improved 1.4% compared with 2Q16 with the majority due
to changes in consolidated sales mix due to the increased weighting of the
retail segment which carries a higher GM than the wholesale businesses. GM in
the upholstery segment improved due to supply chain efficiencies and changes in
product mix.

For 2Q17,
$LZB’s written same store sales for the La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery network
declined 4.4% versus 2Q16. As the quarter progressed, the company saw progress
with October down 1.9%. During 2Q17, the network opened three new stores,
remodeled one and closed two. For 3Q17, four new stores, one relocation and
three remodels are planned.

During 2Q17, $LZB continued to invest in its business and acquired
four La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores in the Canadian market as it continues
to grow its company-owned retail base. Subsequent to quarter-end, the company
acquired an additional nine stores and signed an agreement to acquire the
license from the La-Z-Boy brand in UK and Ireland.